Movement Variability in Stroke Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Thies Sibylle B, Tresadern Phil A, Kenney Laurence P, Smith Joel, Howard David, Goulermas John Y, Smith Christine, Rigby Julie
Primary Institution: Centre for Rehabilitation and Human Performance Research, University of Salford
Hypothesis
Stroke patients will exhibit increased movement variability as compared to healthy control subjects in constrained functional tasks.
Conclusion
Stroke patients showed higher movement variability metrics compared to matched controls during the 'drinking' task.
Supporting Evidence
- Stroke patients took significantly longer to complete tasks compared to controls.
- Higher variability in timing of motion was observed in stroke patients.
- The methodology used is user-friendly and inexpensive, making it feasible for clinical evaluations.
Takeaway
This study found that stroke patients move differently than healthy people when doing tasks with their arms, and a special method was used to measure these differences.
Methodology
Dynamic time warping was used to assess movement variability in stroke patients and matched controls during two functional tasks.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to small sample size and selection of matched controls.
Limitations
The study had a small sample size and only included chronic stroke patients.
Participant Demographics
Six stroke patients and six matched controls, matched by age, gender, and hand dominance.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p = 0.002 and p = 0.008 for timing variability in the 'drinking' task.
Confidence Interval
(-44.44, -17.42) for warping cost on day 1.
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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